Member Avatar for please_help_me

I just received a modware kit and thought I would try installing it. I turned off my computer, unplugged the power cord, removed the case, and installed the fan. I wanted to see if the fan would work, but didnt want to reattach the case, so that if it didn't work, I could remove the fan. I plugged the cord back in, and hit the power switch. The computer started up and everything worked fine. I then decided to surf the web, draw on psp, just mess around for awhile before I reattached the case. All of the sudden, my pc shut off. I tried to turn it on again, and when I hit the power switch, the tower started up and the fan came on, except for that my monitor and keyboard didnt do anything. When I hit Caps-lock, the little light in the corner of the keyboard didn't come on. I tried hitting Num-lock and Scroll-lock,
but that didn't work either. I then noticed that the little green light on the tower by the power switch wasn't on. Neither was the red one. I then tested the monitor. I pressed the MENU button on the monitor, and a window came up saying: "NO SIGNAL". I have tried unplugging the fan and turning on my computer, but nothing seems to work. I may have accidentely unplugged a two pin wire labeled "H.D.D. LED", while installing the fan, but I'm not sure. If that wire has any significance, then please tell me where it is supposed to be plugged. I really need my computer back, so if anyone knows about "NO SIGNAL" then please post a message. I have already tried the simple solutions, like making sure all of the plugs are securely in their sockets, and I believe that it may be something to do with the H.D.D LED. If anyone can help then GREAT!!!!!

thanks,
Walter

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Short diagnosis and focused next steps. Fans running but no keyboard LEDs and the monitor shows “NO SIGNAL” means the board is not producing a usable video POST. was right to suspect a loose or misplaced connector, and correctly pointed out the HDD LED itself won’t stop a boot — but a mis-plugged front-panel or power connector, unseated RAM or AGP card, or a missing CPU/ATX power lead will. Below is a safe, ordered checklist to isolate the fault without buying parts.

Do a minimal "bench" test (power off and unplug before each step):

  1. Remove all nonessential devices (IDE/CD, extra PCI cards, USB devices). Keep only motherboard, CPU+fan, one RAM stick, video card (if no onboard video), PSU, keyboard and monitor.
  2. Reseat RAM: try a single stick in the primary slot. Swap sticks if available.
  3. Reseat the video card and confirm the VGA cable is plugged into the card (not the motherboard). If the board has onboard VGA, try that after removing the AGP/PCI card.
  4. Verify power connectors: the 20-pin ATX and the 4-pin CPU/ATX12V near the CPU must be fully seated. Also check that no front-panel wires are accidentally laid across nearby pins.
  5. Attach a small motherboard speaker (if available) and listen for POST beeps. No beeps + no video usually means a pre-POST hardware fault.
  6. Clear CMOS (power off, unplug, move CLR_CMOS jumper for 5–10s or remove the battery for ~30s) and try again.

Quick monitor/key checks: try the monitor and VGA cable on another PC and try a different keyboard or port. A PS/2 keyboard LED that never lights usually indicates the motherboard isn’t initializing the keyboard controller.

If this still fails, try a known-good PSU or take the minimal components to a friend/tech for a quick bench test; telling them you already did a minimal-boot will speed diagnosis. If downloading the manual on that Win95 box is too slow, copy the manual from another computer so you can check headers and jumpers offline.

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Member Avatar for Catweazle

You have either knocked a component or connector loose, or have moved a connector from where it should be. Possibly you have done both!

You need to consult the motherboard manual for your PC (or download it from the motherboard manufacturers website if you haven't got it) and check that all wires and connectors are correctly attached to the appropriate pins.

You then need to check that all expansion cards and cable connectors are firmly and securely pressed 'home' in their sockets.

Member Avatar for DMR

The HDD LED connection is nothing more that the connection which goes from your motherboard to the hard drive activity indicator light (LED; Light Emitting Diode) on the front of your chassis. Having it disconnected has nothing to do with your problem; although reconnecting it to the wrong points on the motherboard could.

The "no signal" message from your monitor means that it isn't getting a valid signal from your video card. With everything else you've described, it sounds, as Catweazle said, that you've either knocked a connection or component loose or have mis-plugged something when you reconnected your wiring.

As mentioned, you'll have to check the documentation for your particular motherboard to determine the correct connections; those vary between different makes/models of motherboards.

Member Avatar for please_help_me

I have a Gigabyte GA-7ZX motherboard, but when I try to download the pdf. manual file, it is always in french! And, because I have to do all of this research on a Windows 95, it is taking forever. I feel lost. I really don't want to take my computer to be fixed, because I don't want to spend any money. I tried removing the fan and making sure that all of the chips were secured in their proper places, but that didn't work. The only plugs that were unplugged were coming from the power supply box in the corner of the tower where the power switch is located, one being the one I used to plug in the fan.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Dowbload the manual from here:

You must simply be clicking the wrong option when you try - the manual is available in Fench, English and Chinese from the home site in Taiwan

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